Last updated: October 27, 2023
It’s a game that is immediately thought of when you think about casino gambling. The roulette wheel embodies everything that is gambling, so it is no surprise that the game is one of the most popular games being played today. Being a simple game to play with the added complexity of in-depth techniques, everyone has fun when playing and watching roulette.
Whether you are getting started or think of yourself as an experienced player – our Casino Today roulette player guide on the best roulette strategy is a concise and informative resource to help you improve your game. This guide will help you play smarter and include a robust collection of tips and insights that will benefit both online casino roulette games and traditional casino tables.
Welcome to the beginning of our roulette strategy guide! In this first chapter, you will get an overall view of roulette basics from a strategy perspective. These aren’t going to be your traditional basics – if you need to rehash over these, you can find them in our excellent how to play roulette guide.
This chapter is all about setting you up for the remainder of this guide. The topics themselves are centered around debunking a few of the common misconceptions in roulette. Plus, we introduce you to the basics of the casino’s edge and roulette odds.
We understand that the house edge can be a great indicator of what to expect from a game of roulette for many of us. Unfortunately, not all players have this solid understanding of what the house edge is or what it means.
The same can be said for the odds. However, here we will break it down for you so that there are no problems moving forward with our strategy discussions.
In terms of the odds for roulette games, there are two standard tables to refer back to. These are for each of the variants – i.e., American and European. We have included the table of odds for the betting options in both variants below:
American Roulette Odds
| Bet | Pays | Odds |
| Even/Odd | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| Red/Black | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| 1-18 | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| 19-36 | 1:1 | 46.37% |
| 1-12 | 2:1 | 31.58% |
| 13-24 | 2:1 | 31.58% |
| 25-36 | 2:1 | 31.58% |
| Straight | 35:1 | 2.63% |
| Split bet (2 numbers) | 17:1 | 5.26% |
| Street bet (3 numbers) | 11:1 | 7.89% |
| Square bet (4 numbers) | 8:1 | 10.53% |
| Beast bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3 | 5:1 | 15.79% |
| Line bet (6 numbers) | 6:1 | 13.16% |
European Roulette Odds
| Bet | Pays | Odds |
| Even/Odd | 1:1 | 48.60% |
| Red/Black | 1:1 | 48.60% |
| 1-18 | 1:1 | 48.60% |
| 19-36 | 1:1 | 48.60% |
| 1-12 | 2:1 | 32.40% |
| 13-24 | 2:1 | 32.40% |
| 25-36 | 2:1 | 32.40% |
| Straight | 35:1 | 2.70% |
| Split bet (2 numbers) | 17:1 | 5.40% |
| Street bet (3 numbers) | 11:1 | 8.10% |
| Square bet (4 numbers) | 8:1 | 10.80% |
| Line bet (6 numbers) | 6:1 | 16.20% |
When you look at the above odds, it helps paint a picture of the different bets in the game. The odds show just how likely you are to get the win, but if you use common sense, you’d see the same answer behind the payouts too.
Casinos are a business, and that business isn’t about giving away money at high payouts for easier bets!
If you haven’t played casino games before or the house edge topic is unknown to you, then read closely. The house edge is the advantage that the casino has over players losing their bet. This is a mathematical advantage based on probabilities and game design.
The edge is different depending on the variation of roulette that you play. This is why players traditionally lean to one more than the other.
In the American roulette game, i.e., the double zero version – the house edge is 5.26%. Whereas in the European roulette game (the single zero), the house edge is much lower at 2.70%.
How is the Edge Calculated?
As we said, the edge is a mathematical perspective of the game and not a rigging of the game for the casino, as many players often believe gambling games like this are designed.
In the European variant of roulette, there are 37 numbers in total:
Now, remember that the game has a maximum payout of 35:1, which means the casinos are holding one unit.
To work out the edge, we simply divide the 1 (difference between true odds and payout) by the 37 (total numbers to bet on) and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage – being 2.70%.
Have you ever heard of the term being a ‘roulette spinster’ before? It is a thought that has been around for decades, essentially being a set of techniques that players use to track the ball on a roulette wheel to determine where it might come to a stop before placing a bet.
It sounds ludicrous but trust us; players really think they are spinsters and have the ability to do this.
Realistically it would be impossible to predict the exact number, but maybe it is possible to predict a section of numbers? This had us thinking, what would you need to do to be a spinster and correctly estimate where the ball would land?
As you can see from the list above – while it could be done, it more than likely is not possible. We recommend not wasting your time trying to master being a ‘spinster’.
We often see this question being asked among roulette player groups online – are the odds much different in online roulette games instead of traditional casino tables?
Thankfully the answer is short and sweet, albeit the topic is repetitive.
There is no difference in the odds of roulette games online. The two playing styles are based on the same game. It’s just that there is more flexibility in playing at the best online real money casinos.
So, which is the better game to be playing – single or double zero roulette games? There is often a debate about which game is better or more enjoyable to play. There isn’t much to the discussion in all honesty, as the enjoyment levels are really the same.
Unless you include winning real money as an influence towards your enjoyment, in that case, it’s best to go with the game that gives you the best chance of winning.
Which variant of roulette is that? From our table of odds and payouts earlier in this chapter, we can see that one variant has almost double the house edge of the other. American roulette (double zero) has an edge of 5.26% to refresh your memory, whereas European roulette (single zero) has a much lower edge of just 2.70%.
When you factor in how long you will be playing and how often, that just over 2.5% increase will amount to quite a bit in terms of losses. Stick to playing the Euro version of the game.
It’s an underrated advantage of playing online casino games – being able to practice without the risk. This is possible because, at all the top internet casinos, players can play free games like roulette.
Sure, you can’t win real money when you are playing for free, but it means you can practice your techniques and learn the gameplay or strategies that we discuss throughout this guide and our helpful player guide on how to win at roulette.
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In chapter two of our roulette strategy to win guide, we dive into the world of roulette betting strategies. Now, these aren’t traditional gameplay methods as you’d suspect. Instead, these strategies are more focused on how you bet and the monetary amounts you attribute to your bets.
The strategies we are focusing on in this chapter include:
The Martingale betting strategy is commonly known as the most popular roulette strategy. You might already be using this strategy without knowing it. The basic concept behind this strategy is that you follow it up with a bet worth double when you lose your bet.
If you follow this strategy, you will always be ten units ahead of your baseline bet when you win. Sounds great because it just about guarantees that you will be back in front once you get a win. However, there are good and bad points of using this strategy, though.
Look, full disclosure – when using this strategy in roulette games, you will win most of your bets if you are playing smarter bets and not sticking to only spotting single straight bets. This is a positive of using the strategy but is there a bad side? Yes, there is.
Using Martingale is promoting one of the first rules of responsible gambling – never chasing your losses. Because when you lose, you double your bet to try to win back and cover your losses.
This leads into the next negative – if you get into a losing streak, your bets can quickly rack up, which creates two problems:
Take a look at how to use the Martingale betting strategy in roulette games with the below example. First, you’ll need to decide what bet you are playing as the strategy works best when you follow up with the same bets and maintain consistency.
It is a good idea to go with a bet that has great odds and start your bets at the table minimum. In roulette, we suggest going with something like odds/evens or red/black. While the gameplay might be boring, it aims to reduce the chance of getting hit with large betting amounts.
If you go with the odds/evens, place the minimum table bet – which is typically $5. Now, if you lose this bet, you will need to make the same bet again except with double your bet, i.e., $10.
Say, for example, that you lose this bet again, you would need to place another odds/evens bet but with double the amount again – so, this time, it will be $20.
You should be able to see how fast the bets can rack up here; on just our third bet, we have gone from $5 all the way up to $20 – a crazy 400% increase.
Now, on your $20 bet, things have turned, and you win your bet. This will put you ahead by your initial stake, covering your losses of $5, $10, and the $20 stake for the bet (total of $35$) – thanks to the win of $40.
You don’t sit at the same previous stake on your next bet, nor do you double as you do on a loss. Instead, take things back to the beginning and start with your $5 stake again.
The Labouchere betting strategy is a cancellation system that can be very detrimental to your gameplay and adds significant structure to the way you play. This is a peculiar strategy because it doesn’t offer any improvement to the edge in favor of players.
Primarily Labouchere is a strategy that can be used to more or less ‘give a meaning’ to how you play. It can be costly, or it can be more streamlined, but the premise is you have a row or selection of numbers that form your betting stakes’ structure.
When you lose a bet, you add the total of your previous bet to your selection of numbers, and when you win your stake, you remove the first and last numbers in your sequence. This is a cancellation method, so your goal is to win bets to remove the numbers from your series, therefore being ahead.
The foundation of using Labouchere requires a sequence of numbers, and below, we will give you an example of how to do this. This will look frightening at first because we are using actual betting stakes – which is where the costs can rack up and an essential component for players to understand!
Consider that you are using a five-part sequence with $5 bets – this would look like:
Each of these numbers represents a $5 amount that is used in the structure of your bets. Below we show you how to use this sequence with the Labouchere strategy in roulette.
With the sequence above, you will bet $10 on your first bet (the total of the first and fifth numbers in the sequence). If this first bet was a loss, then you will add the sum of these (or the bet amount) onto the sequence – making it now a six-part sequence that looks like this:
Your next bet will be for $15 (the total of the first and sixth numbers), and imagine this bet is a loss too. Then the 15 is to be added into the sequence, making it now:
The next bet would be the total of the first and seventh numbers, $20 (being the 5 and 15). Now, if this comes off as a winner, then you would remove the first and last numbers in the sequence before your next stake. The sequence would now look like this, with the next bet being back down to $15:
In Labouchere, you would continue going until you win enough times to remove all numbers in the sequence. In our example, this would be a subsequent three straight wins and would look like:
This strategy is useful if you want some added technicality or direction in your betting. However, in the context of roulette, it does not offer anything to your gameplay performance.
You will have likely heard of the Fibonacci sequence at some point in your lifetime, and this best roulette betting strategy is based on the mathematical system itself. The Fibonacci system uses the sequence method to determine the value of bets.
It means that players will be going up and down the sequence as they win or lose bets. If you think this is just another version of Martingale, don’t. Using Fibonacci won’t slip you wins along the way; instead, it aims to reduce your losses overall and keeps you in the game for longer.
This makes the strategy great for players who want longevity rather than big profits. If you get on a winning streak, you’ll be well covered in any event.
The strategy is straightforward to use and is based on a sequence of numbers separated from each other by combining the two previous numbers. Feeling lost? Well, it works like this:
As you can see, the number sequence stretches out pretty quickly, meaning your bets could get high very quickly if you see successive losses.
When it comes to using the Fibonacci sequence, it is very easy. You start at your first number in the sequence and follow this simple process:
If you are still feeling confused, jot your numbers down in a list. That way, you can simply move up and down the list as you need. If you win on your very first bet (i.e., you can’t move down two spots), just simply keep betting until you lose or you rake in millions on your good luck!
We’ve all seen the movies, the glitz, and glamour of the casino scenes, and now you can play with the James Bond roulette strategy yourself! This is commonly referred to as the beginners’ go-to roulette play and combines a few different bets to enjoy roulette with fantastic odds.
Using the James Bond strategy is simple, but it will cost you a pretty penny. To channel your inner 007 on European variants of roulette, all you need to do is make the following bets:
This gives you great odds of winning with a loss only being possible if the ball lands on a number in the first dozen.
Our third chapter explores the various inside bets in roulette and offers up some of the more useful strategies. These are straightforward ways that you can improve your odds of winning by maximizing enjoyable gameplay.
These are the bets that players can make, and specifically, can be found so from within the layout of numbers. Many different inside bets are available here, including:
Each of these inside bets varies in how you play them and how many numbers they cover. We are going to give you a summary of each of these here below. Note that all the odds are for the Euro variant.
The biggest payouts will come from this straightforward single pick. This bet is also known as the single number bet. Pick your lucky number and wait with your fingers crossed.
Not the best odds of winning this one at only 2.70%, but the payout is what draws in players, offering a 35 to 1 payout.
The split bet covers two numbers – hence the name! Pick the two adjacent numbers that you are looking to back and place your stake on the line between the numbers. This inside bet is very popular, and you’ll see gamblers placing their chips all over the betting layout with these.
There is a 5.4% chance to hit on this one, with a decent payout of 17 to 1 being much of the reason why players go for the bait.
A street or side bet is a combination of three numbers in a line. Think of three houses on the street. Make this bet by placing your chips on the outside line of the outer number. Playing the street bet will give you an 8.1% odds of winning and a decent payout of 11 to 1.
The square bet is all about four adjacent numbers, with your chips being placed on the adjoining corner of these numbers. It gives a decent payout of 8 to 1, and the odds sitting at 10.8% aren’t as bad as they may seem.
This bet will only be found in American variants of roulette as it requires the double zero. It is effectively a five number spread, covering the first five numbers – 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3.
Strangely enough, this bet is not player-friendly because the bet pays out at 6 to 1 and has a house edge of 7.89%, which is higher than you would have experienced if you were to place five straight bets simply!
The line bet is the six number bet and is easy to spot on the table. It splits the table into half dozens, and placing your wager is done by merely putting your chips on the corner intersection for the adjacent lines.
Line bets will pay 5 to 1 if you win, with players facing odds of 16.2%, which are respectable.
Now that we have covered what the inside bets are in roulette, it is time to investigate one of our favorite strategies – the double street quad roulette strategy. The name might be hectic but using the strategy is very simple once you get its hang.
Plus, this will have you covering 17 numbers across the board. Better yet, when you look at the roulette wheel – there won’t be more than five adjacent slots that are not being covered by your bet.
This roulette might not be for everybody, though, as it does require players to bet six chips per round, so presumably, each game will cost you $30 if you are playing at a table featuring a minimum bet of $5.
Don’t get overwhelmed, okay, and it’s not as hectic as it appears. You will look to bet two chips on each of the double streets, plus one chip on a corner bet, and one chip on a straight bet.
In the example below, we are using the lucky number 7 as our straight bet. You can pick your favorite number, just make sure that the number isn’t being covered already by your other bets.
Street Bet Wins
Each of your street bets pays 5 to 1, and you will have two chips on the line here, which means a pickup of ten chips. If the winning number is within your street bets, you will come out with a profit of six chips. This is because you’ll lose two chips from your other street, one on the straight bet, and one on your corner bet.
Corner/Quad Bet Wins
Your corner bet pays out 8 to 1, and this will give you a smaller profit at three chips because of the loss of four chips across both streets, and the one chip on your straight bet.
Straight Bet Wins
This is where things get exciting. If you get lucky and hit on your straight bet, then you will enjoy a payout of 35 to 1, which means a profit of 30 chips! Losing four on the streets and the one chip on a corner bet.
On a $5 table, this would take your bet of $30 and turn it into $150 profit.
Like the previous strategy, the five quad strategy is all about board control – having 21 numbers ready to go for you. Playing with this strategy is just as the name implies. It’s all about the corner/quad bets, and here you will be placing five of them alongside a straight bet.
Once again, you will want to ensure that your straight bet is not covered in your quads; otherwise, you’ll be down a number.
So, how do you play the five-quad best roulette strategy? It’s quite simple, just place a single chip on the following corner/quad bets, plus one further chip on a straight bet of your choice – remember to avoid picking a number which is already covered in your quads.
Look to place a chip on each of the following corner bets:
Plus, your straight number bet, for example, we will go with number 7 again.
If you hit on one of your five corner bets, you will receive a payout of 8 to 1, leading to a profit of three chips (losing four on the other corners). However, hitting on your straight bet will pay 35 to 1, meaning you’ll bring in a profit of 30 chips.
Both the five quad and the double street quad strategies are all about staying power. These aren’t get rich quick schemes—instead, a method used to grind out those smaller yet more frequent wins.
The beauty of these roulette strategies is flexibility, though. You don’t merely have to stick to the numbers we used. Use whichever numbers or patterns you like. If you think that the table is having more higher number wins, go ahead and squish your corner bets up towards the higher end of the layout and so on.
Just always remember to slow things down and enjoy your time gambling.
Welcome to chapter four, here we discuss the various outside bets for roulette strategies and two of the commonly used systems – the column king and pairing outside bets with the 3:2 strategy.
After checking over this chapter, you’ll have a decent understanding of using these bets to improve your winning potential.
Typically they are the quickest bets to place. When looking at the roulette table, you will find the outside bets outside the layout. These areas are indicated by names or icons, making them a very player-friendly way to get involved.
In particular, these outside bets that you will find include:
For the most part, these bets’ odds are close to 1/3 or 50/50, notwithstanding the house edge with the zero. The here or there nature of these bets means the payout is much lower than other bets, offering either even money or 2 to 1 payout.
Three columns are available for players to place their stake on. These are the first, second, or third and can be found at the end of the layout. Column bets cover all numbers in that column, obviously not including the zeros.
A winning bet here will pay 2 to 1 and features a 32.40% of winning.
As easy as the name says, this outside bet is based on sections of 12 numbers, i.e., a dozen. There are also three of these dozens available to bet on, with a payout of 2 to 1 and a 32.40% chance of winning.
This bet covers about half of the potential numbers, and it reflects in the payout and odds of winning. An odds or evens bet covers just that, whether the number will be an odd or even outcome.
Winning here will pay even money, featuring a 48.60% chance of winning.
Another even money bet, this outside bet, is a pick on whether the number will be red or black, with the opposite pick being a loss, as well as the zero.
This one and the odds or evens are one of the most player-friendly beginner-oriented roulette bets. However, gameplay can be rather dull.
The high or low outside bet is split on each half of the potential numbers, the low bet being the lower end of numbers – 1 to 18, whereas the high bet is the opposite end, 19 to 36.
No zeros are included, and the payout is at even money.
As you can see, these outside bets are reasonably straightforward. Unfortunately, they will either be your cup of tea, or you won’t be interested at all.
This strategy uses the columns; however, it is also possible to adapt it to bets on the dozens. Playing with column king is straightforward, with the aim of the strategy being to cover as much ground as possible and grind out wins. The idea is to place an equal stake on two of the three columns, which leaves just the one column (and the zero) left for the loss.
It will keep you playing for longer with the odds of winning being close to two thirds. All wins will pay 2 to 1, which means every win will put you ahead by a single chip.
The system also looks to flow with potential streaks, but it is impossible to predict this action. So, instead, it more or less just gives players a method of choosing which two columns to bet on.
Whenever you get a win, remove that column from your next bet and place the minimum chip bet on the column that was not covered in the previous game. Whenever a column bet loses, increase your bet on that column by the same amount. It is best to stick to units and simply add a unit – we recommend using the table minimum as your units – so a single $5 chip in most circumstances.
If you are really unlucky and the zero wins, add a unit to the stake on both columns in the losing bet and leave the third column.
This outside bet strategy allows players to cover over two-thirds of the numbers by betting two chips on the middle column bet and three chips on red, so the numbers 2 to 35 and the outside red bet.
The alternative bet consists of two chips on the third column – numbers 3 to 36, and three chips on the black bet.
Sure, it’s not perfect, but it does allow you to leverage your gameplay and minimize the losses by pulling in some decent wins without too much worry.
If you cannot bet five chips per round, you can simply spread your bet by just placing one chip over a red or black bet.
Our fifth and final chapter covers the importance of proper bankroll management. We know that this can be a bland side to gambling, which players often avoid learning about. So, we aim to keep this short and sweet, covering simple, actionable tips to maintaining and using your bankroll correctly.
Consistency is vital when playing gambling games, whether playing steadily on games or making sure that you are playing with an amount that you can afford.
Our best recommendation is that players get into the habit of giving themselves a small portion of money towards their bankroll each time their salary goes in. Think of it as an amount that you can afford to lose, one that you are using entirely for fun – not trying to win back your rent money.
This will stop players from worrying about their bankroll and reduces the chances of players feeling like they need to chase their losses. This is because players worry less, knowing that they’ll still be able to play next time with the same amount of cash!
This is a personal favorite of ours but traditionally only works (in a fundamental sense) if you are playing at a physical casino.
It’s really easy, too, and is based on stopping players from blowing their bankroll or winnings.
If you are heading out to the casino, take a plain envelope with you and keep your bankroll in it.
Easy enough, right? Right. Now, be sure to keep this envelope on you, and when the night or day is over, take your winnings or leftover cash and place it back in the envelope and seal it up for next time.
You could also simply take your profit out and separate it from your bankroll if you wish. This will help you get into the habit of keeping a consistent bankroll for next time.
Goodbyes can be awkward, but they really don’t have to be. It is incredibly difficult to remove yourself from something that you find fun. Even more so when you are winning. As we show you later in this chapter, limits are essential, and when you reach yours, then it is time to say goodbye.
It is that simple. Get up and walk away. Logout and switch off your computer or device.
Be realistic and think big picture, it’s no secret that casinos don’t aim to payout to players, and casino games are mathematically designed with an edge to the house, not the player.
If you are up or ahead of your starting bankroll – consider walking away sooner!
At the end of the day, you need to familiarize yourself with the feeling and power of saying enough is enough. Remember, the only winners are those that know when to quit.
Yes, this is a bit of a contradictory statement to what we have said in the past. Casino comps and slots tournaments are great! Plenty of fun and amazing rewards!
But it comes without saying, playing in a comp will cause you to play more. That is how you win these comps, and it’s how casinos make a decent haul.
Unfortunately, forcing yourself to play for longer to keep up with other high volume gamblers might cause you to overreach on what you can afford.
So, if managing your bankroll is an essential aspect for you – or you only have a low amount to play with, in the first place – avoid playing in casino comps.
Don’t hate us; this chapter is all about techniques to prolong your bankroll!
The best gamblers know when to say enough is enough, and they sure as heck don’t go in blind when starting a sesh. You must set limits and targets on what you hope to achieve. Some examples of limits and targets include:
These don’t need to be limiting, and it is better to think of them as goals. They are smart goals too. Simple, measurable, achievable, and timely. This means that you need to set limits and goals that are realistic. Otherwise, you’ll just risk extending your play and getting into unfamiliar territory.
This concludes our guide to the best roulette strategy! We hope you have enjoyed the five chapters here and have picked up some helpful tips and knowledge on improving your chances of winning.
As we look back, we have explored the ins and outs of inside and outside bets and shared a couple of hot strategies to use for each of the betting types.
One of the components in this guide that we focused on was the varying betting strategies and game basics. Remember that using these best roulette strategies may not be for everyone, but they will help improve your gameplay.
If you are still looking to learn more about the game of roulette, we recommend checking out our guide on how to play and these helpful roulette tips and tricks, plus our look at the odds of roulette casino games.
Susan is a verified gambling support specialist who has helped thousands of problem gamblers get back on their feet through therapy and financial counseling. She’s also worked as a cage manager in four Las Vegas casinos and spent two years in Macau in her 30s, where she became extremely savvy at Sic Bo and other Asian table games. Her knowledge and expertise have and continue to play a priceless part in how we structure our content, particularly when it comes to game guides and casino reviews.
